All Men Must Learn: Marketing Lessons From Westeros

I have a confession to make: I am a total geek. I love fantasy and sci-fi and get caught up in subreddits on my favorite transmedia driven stories. From Lost to Star Wars to Mr. Robot to great books including The Name of the Wind and the Riyria Chronicles. I read or watch these shows to redirect my brain away from the many hours a day I am focused on my work and the industry I love. It changes the part of the brain I use but it also makes me a better marketer.

We are all creating our brands story and narrative and as Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" teaches us, the importance of discovering our brands archetype and our hero's call to adventure is critical to building a meaningful brand universe for our consumers.

Perhaps no universe and story has fixated me more than George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire or as the TV only viewers know it, Game of Thrones. In celebration of Season 7 here are some lessons we as marketers can all learn from Westeros.

1. Respect the preconceived tropes, then smash them: Every character begins as a traditional archetype but quickly they are twisted and turned in ways that ultimately bring the character to a completely new place or to where you expect them but through a journey you would never expect. How about leveraging that strategy for a new brief on your consumer UX or approach at determining a seasonal campaign for your neatly constructed consumer archetype and how you will engage them.
2. Don't forget about the Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things: Perhaps more than anything else this story is about the courage and capacity of those with the direst circumstances. Jon Snow, the bastard, Tyrion, the dwarf, and Daenerys the last of her line all seem to represent the fact that it's not about celebrating the powerful it is about the ones who have to climb the highest and most treacherous ladder and avoid the chaos of the climb. The world wants authenticity and we as brands have the opportunity to portray those people making the true climb instead of focusing solely on those very few who portray an unobtainable ideal of the world.
3. The best leaders are those that earn it through purpose NOT force or for the sake of power: You know who these people are. You respect them and want to win with them because you believe in their character and the way in which they drive your organizational purpose.
4. Not everyone is ready for dragons, giants and ice zombies on day 1: The story took a whole season before the magic got going. It built up your belief in the real foundation before introducing the fantasy. Your consumer might not be ready to get deep themselves on day 1 or communication 5. You have to bring them along for the ride. Take your time and slowly invite them on the call to adventure with you and get them to buy in that your journey is their journey. The time you spend getting them to understand your shared values is money well spent as they will be ready to "take the black" or walk into the flames with you.
5. Recognize that there are many differences in the world AND many similarities: 7 Kingdoms, many, many Gods, and centuries of wars over numerous disputes shows that you can't treat every consumer equally in the world. You have to understand and adjust your approach on the battlefield of marketing y recognizing and understanding these differences. Yet you also need to appreciate and celebrate that there are some universal truths. From the love of a great Arbor Gold, the fear of the Long Night or the importance of family, love and shared distain for King Joffrey we are ultimately united in elements of our humanity and finding these elements that bind us together are critical to anchoring your brand to shared values.

Ultimately, winter is coming for all of us (probably in the form of Amazon). Be prepared! Be your organizations Prince that was Promised. Drive your brand's purpose. Align your internal houses and boldly break the rules of your existing playbook and perhaps one day, your consumers will sing songs of your brands conquests. Long may it reign.